How To Make Cleaning Fun & Get Things Done!

Make the most of the time you spend doing the things you don’t love, with these simple ways to make cleaning fun. Or at least, make it a little less tedious! Make the time go faster while getting those essential cleaning tasks done! If you are ready to learn how to make your cleaning session more fun, read on and prepare to tidy!

How to make cleaning fun

Cleaning is the worst, right? There is very little I hate more than cleaning and I will admit, I’m not always great with it.

I go through phases of being right on top of it, sticking to my cleaning schedule and having a perfectly tidy and organised home. Then I get a little busy, or simply decide that spending the time with my girls is far better time spent.

Great until the cleaning all gets a little out of hand and becomes a far bigger job than it needed to be.

Over the years I have developed a few methods to reduce the bore and make cleaning more fun. Maybe not the kind of fun you want to be having, but any type of improvement in cleaning is a bonus!


How To Make Cleaning Fun

Here are some simple ways you can reduce the cringe and get a little more enjoyment out of your day, while doing those tasks we dread, to keep our home tidy:

cleaning with headphones on

1. Play Music

Music is such a great mood enhancer. No matter what you are doing, adding some upbeat tunes that you love can really improve the situation.

When you clean, pop on some energetic music, classical music or whatever tunes get you in a good mood normally. You can even step it up a notch and do a bit of dancing with your mop, while you work.

That’s double the bonus… a cleaning dance party is great for boosting your step count.

I created my own motivation playlist mix on Spotify a while back. You can download the free playlist here.


2. Set Goals

I have a rather competitive nature. I like to see progress and hit new achievements. As amusing as it may sound, one way I add a fun factor to my cleaning session is by setting myself goals or a personal cleaning challenge, which then gives me that little boost when I finish them.

For me, a super simple idea that works is keeping a digital to-do list.

I enter everything that needs to be done, then as I complete a cleaning task, I can remove it from my list. Seeing the list shrink makes me happy (and also makes me sound a little lame).

I tend to use my paper planner more these days and plan cleaning goals ahead of time and get satisfaction when I tick them all off and see a completed to-do list at the end of a day.


Cleaning with kids

3. Challenge Yourself

This one essentially builds on the goal setting. But instead of just aiming to get things done on a particular day, why not add a little extra competition to it.

Set yourself cleaning challenges with your cleaning tasks to motivate you to get into it and get it done. Things like folding the washing in under 10 minutes.

Put on a timer and attempt to beat the clock in the time limit before the timer goes off.

Or consider wearing a fitness tracker and challenge yourself to make a certain number of steps during your cleaning activities, either to see if you can do it in as few steps as possible to make the job quicker or working at reaching your daily 10,000 steps by getting as many as you can.

It’s the little things!


mother and daughter wiping bench together

4. Get the Family Involved

As much as they will probably be very unimpressed with you, having your family members help with cleaning tasks can make them a lot more fun.

Get your toddler cleaning windows. This is something my kids loved helping with when they were little. Or have a conversation while you help one another clean the kitchen.

Your cleaning time could double as family bonding time, and make you a lot less resentful next time you are picking up after your kids yet again!

Younger kids love being armed with a spray bottle and cloth, setting them to task on an easy cleaning project.

After all, getting kids started on chores from an early age is a sure way to help them grow up into responsible adults.

age appropriate chores printable

5. The Right Tools

We all know things are better when we have the right tools at our disposal. Make sure you have good quality products that are easy to use.

As boring as that sounds, it will help make your cleaning more fun… or at least a little less horrible. My current essentials include my spray mop and my cordless vacuum cleaner.

I don’t really know how I managed before they came into my life, but I’m so happy they did. Otherwise, I am known for using baby wipes a lot…

6. Cleaning Games

If all else fails, and you need to get the kids motivated, cleaning games are the perfect solution! Get the kids excited to help out by turning chores into fun activities to play.

Add a little friendly competition between siblings or see who can finish their chores faster out of mum and dad. Don’t forget to set a timer to get everyone moving faster!

Cleaning games are especially useful when it comes to doing a deep clean or spring clean and having the whole family involved.

Check out loads of fun cleaning games for kids.


Related Posts

daily weekly monthly cleaning schedules
Things you forgot to clean
how to deep clean your house room by room checklist (2)

8. Listen To An Audiobook

One of my favourite ways to get my cleaning tasks done without it ruining my good mood is by listening to an audio book. Audible is a great option for audiobooks.

As a member, you get a monthly pick of your choice plus access to their complete member library so you will easily find a new ‘page turner’ to listen to while you work.

So grab your cleaning supplies and make time for reading while still getting things done. It makes the time go much faster!

9. Call A Friend

If you are having a relatively quiet cleaning session, such as folding laundry, mopping floors or cleaning the kitchen, connect your hands free and chat with your best friend while you clean.

Make sure they know what you’re doing in case you sound a little out of breath mid scrub or fold!

You might even start up an accountability session and clean together while you chat on the phone.

woman listening to earpods while cleaning

10. Watch Your Favourite Show

If you have ironing, folding or other chores that allow you to stay in one spot for a period of time, catch up on the latest episode of your current favourite tv show or watch a YouTube video about something that interests you while you work.

Some people love to watch those clean with me videos on YouTube to boost their motivation.

The time will go much faster since you are doing something you enjoy while you work.


But seriously, having good habits to prevent your home from getting too messy or grubby can really help reduce that cleaning time, not to mention having a clutter-free home. While these things can cut down cleaning time dramatically, sadly there will always be cleaning to be done so we might as well make cleaning fun!

free homemaking printables

Here are some of my favourite cleaning and decluttering posts:

How do you make cleaning more fun at your house? Is that even possible?

Similar Posts

One Comment

  1. For us, getting the kids involved was one of the most effective methods we employed to keep our house clean. They’ve been helping us clean different parts of the house since they were like three years, with their chores gradually increasing as they grew older.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *